Gaslight Village property receives $135,000 grant

LAKE GEORGE The proposed acquisition of the former Gaslight Village property by Warren County and the Town and Village of Lake George received another boost with the announcement of a $135,000 grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service to support the West Brook Improvement Project.

The grant funds are coming from the USDAs Urban and Community Forest Program and were applied for by the Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board. Randy Rath of the Lake George Association and David Decker of the Lake George Watershed Conference assisted in the preparation. The funds will be used to develop a reforestation initiative including the hiring of professional firms that will assist in identifying native plantings as part of the planned wetlands project. The grant will fund the initiative, physical installation field work as well as project management and control.

This is the third grant designated for the project that is designed to keep the long vacant Wood property as open-space parklands with walking and hiking trails and a large parking/special event area as well as treating stormwater from the Route 9 south area and the village before it enters the lake.

The Chazen Company engineering firm is presently completing its report on the feasibility of utilizing this property and public hearings are scheduled for this fall. The property has been offered to the municipalities for $4.1million. The Lake George Association, The Fund for Lake George and The Lake George Land Conservancy has pledged $2.1 million towards the purchase with the municipalities contributing the remainder.

Initial grants obtained through the Lake George Watershed Conference are covering the engineering study and completion of an environmental impact statement undertaken by the designated Lead Agency, the Village of Lake George.